Long Live the King
by Ray by Another Name
Summary: Here's a Bunheads fic with an Arthurian Legend twist. It focuses on Melanie, who sort of takes a Merlin-y role. Rated K.


My teacher gave me an assignment to create a mashup of some sort, so here's a Bunheads fanfic with an Arthurian Legend twist. Primarily focused on Melanie, cause she was my favorite. Rated K.

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"Long live the king!" the crowd was shouting from all sides, the knights led the cheer, but Melanie could not bring herself to say the words. She'd said them thousands of times in her father's reign and still he'd died before her wedding.

"Try to smile," Ginny whispered from beside her. Melanie automatically plastered a grin on her face.

Her brother looped his arm with Ginny's to escort his future queen from the room. Melanie followed after them, knights on either side behind her.

Sir Desmond escorted her to her chambers after that, while Sir Frankel and Sir Roman continued with the royal couple. Once safely in her chambers Melanie flopped on her bed.

"Very lady like." Melanie groaned at the voice of her chamber maid.

Melanie sat up to glare, "Must you, Sasha? Must you?"

"Someone has to keep you in line," Sasha smiled and crossed her arms. She gestured with her fingers and Melanie got up. "You can never let your guard down, there is always someone out there waiting to take advantage."

"I know," Melanie rolled her eyes as Sasha undid the bindings of her bodice. Once she was down to her sleeping dress Sasha took the gown, "Besides who would go after a witch?"

Sasha paused, frowning, "Magic can only do so much. You know that."

With Sasha gone and the her door locked Melanie curled into her bed. She could still hear the celebration downstairs for the coronation, no doubt her brother had rejoined them - he had always enjoyed parties, ones where he was the center of attention even more so.

Melanie stared at the ceiling, the candles flickered out and the window closed, "Magic can do a lot though."

-'-

"Good Morning, Princess," Desmond always greeted her the same. Even when they were children and he had played with her and her brother he never forgot his station.

Melanie smiled, "Dez." Sasha shook her head as she followed after. Desmond never corrected her either, Melanie grinned to herself.

He escorted her to the library and Sasha promised to fetch him if they decided to leave. Melanie stuck her tongue out, almost earning a chuckle from the knight.

"I can walk around the castle by myself," Melanie complained.

Sasha shook her head, "Like I am that stupid." She struck Melanie with a fierce look, "We both know you would run off to the forest or the town the second we all turned our back."

"I did all the time as a child," Melanie reminder her as she picked up a book.

"And your father learned from that mistake," Sasha was quick on the comeback, the wittiest friend Melanie had ever had.

"What if I took you with me?"

"I am hardly protection."

"Dez?" "You mean the knight you fancy? Again I remind you, I am not stupid."

"Dez would never do anything, he is far too loyal to Charlie for that."

"A pretty girl can change a lot of things," Sasha muttered with more than an ounce of bitterness.

Melanie eyed her suspiciously, "What are you saying?"

"Nothing, absolutely nothing." Sasha turned away and a knock sounded.

Melanie smiled at her tutor, "Lady Michelle." Michelle gave her a hug and then dropped a large spellbook in her lap.

"Too work immediately," Michelle gestured to the book as she plopped onto a nearby chair, "I expect you to be conjuring frogs and levitation by the end of the day!"

The three all laughed, it was the same thing Michelle had said the first day of Melanie's training over ten years before. Melanie opened the book nonetheless and did as she was told, she was on sleeping spells after all.

-'-

Melanie grazed the lake with her fingertips and watched the soft ripples expand.

"Boo," the ethereal voice whispered as mist enveloped the area.

"I already know you exist, why try to scare me?" Melanie laughed as the ghostly figure rose out of the lake.

The Lady of the Lake settled above the water, "Why are you here?"

Melanie skimmed her palm over the water, "I'm ready to see it now."

"Are you sure?" the lake seemed to settle, the woods eerily still.

"Yes." With that word the water began to shift and Melanie found herself sucked into the lake. She restrained herself, not giving in to the reflex to thrash and swim. Instead she let herself fall into the subconscious state needed.

The images came in blurry swathes. A man with a sword, a woman in a dress. As she slipped further into the lake they sharpened. Sir Frankel. Guinevere. She gasped, the little air in her lungs escaping in bubbles to the surface.

Sir Frankel was above her, his sword at her throat. As fear clouded her judgement she began to thrash and as the visions cleared she breached the surface.

The Lady's whisper led her to the shore, but as Melanie stepped onto land the mist slunk away. The Lady with it.

-'-

Melanie stumbled towards the main road back to her brother's kingdom. She heard the hoof beats – two horses. No three. Her mind was still jumbled from the visions. The images she'd seen kept jumping back into her mind.

She slumped against a tree and tried to focus her sight. It worked a bit and the first thing that caught her eye was Sir Frankel, approaching her. She shrieked and stumbled back, her damp and muddied gown hooking on tree branches as she did.

Frankel froze at her reaction, while Desmond rushed forward, catching Melanie before she fell. He tried to calm her, as her eyes focused on Desmond's face she did. She clung to him tightly.

"He will kill me," she murmured in Desmond's ear, "He shall betray my brother. And then he will kill me." Desmond looked back at Frankel skeptically.

Frankel seemed surprise, "Did I startle her?"

Charlie clapped his knight on the shoulder before approaching his sister, "The princess is often disoriented after her expeditions in the woods." He ran a hand over his sister's hair, "That is why you are meant to stay in the castle."

"I had to know," Melanie stared back with wide eyes, "I had to know."

The men ignored her muttering as they placed her on a horse. They rode back to the castle. Charlie thought nothing of her so-called prophecies, but Desmond and Frankel had heard the truth in her fear.

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